Dutch researchers may have found the reason why people are scared of ghosts, reports claim.
For this study, the researchers ran five experiments that test the ability of a religious and non-religious individual to see ghosts. They gave this people number of words like demons and spirits.
They found out that giving them these words had an effect in what the religious participant saw. They also found out that non-religious people were not affected by this words, IFLScience reported.
The researcher explained that our cognitive bias draws us to the supernatural. Humans ability to find meaningful patterns allows us to see patterns that brings order to our chaotic world.
This innate ability that we have allows us to see faces in clouds or hear messages in records that we believe our ghosts.
According to Real Simple, it is part of human instinct to see life and intelligence beyond us. They said that this is the reason why a person hugs a tree, name a car and yell at a computer.
They explained that the power of suggestion has something to do with Ghost sightings. They said that if you think you can see a spirit, it's more likely that you will see an apparition.
They also said that are researchers that suggest, that because of loneliness a person or desire for a contact a person has a high chance of sensing a presence or seeing a ghost.
If a parent has a child, who's afraid of what lurks in under his bed. The parent can help him conquer this by shining a light under the bed. He will not be able to remove his child's fears but by simply letting him know that his there for him, can provide ease to the child.
The researchers also explained that all cultures have beliefs that related to spirits and ghosts. This may further instil fear in people and may give a possible solution to the question why people are afraid of ghosts. They also said that there are universal themes that explain a lot of urban legends about the world's hazards.
